International Womens Day In Gloucester – Tues 8th March

Over Bridge will be the place for Women of Gloucester to meet and unite next Tuesday, 8 March at 4,30pm. Tuesday is the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day and this event aims to celebrate and raise awareness. This is all part of much larger campaign called the “Join Me On The Bridge” campaign, championed by the Women for Women Organisation, which aims to raise money and awareness for women in war-torn countries around the world.

Two years ago, the Women For Women International organisation arranged for women from DR Congo and Rwanda to meet on a bridge between their countries to stand up for peace and to call an end to violence against women. Last year, over 20,000 people took part in the first ever global Join Me on the Bridge campaign, with 119 events including in Afghanistan, the DR Congo, Kosovo, Canada, Mexico and Belgium. This year there are already hundreds more events planned, with thousands more participants.

In South Africa, girls have a higher chance of being raped than learning to read.

Every minute a woman with no medical care dies in pregnancy or childbirth.

Women For Women International is one of the organisations that work to redress these (and other awful) imbalances. In addition, the organisation is working to get women included in the peace negotiations.

Since 1993, WFWI has empowered over 275,000 women survivors of war to move towards economic self-sufficiency by providing financial and emotional support, jobs and business skills, training, rights and leadership education.